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Sandoval: Link agencies' budgets to goals
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Nevada governor Brian Sandoval
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REVIEW-JOURNAL CAPITAL BUREAU
Updated: Jan. 20, 2011 | 7:39 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- Gov. Brian Sandoval said Wednesday he favors switching how Nevada government spends money to a "performance-based" budgeting system in which state agencies must meet pre-set goals and requirements.
He would not give details, but the governor hinted that he might discuss how he wants to launch performance-based budgeting during his televised State of the State message Monday.
"You are going to see a different approach, performance indicators, that I think will be refreshing," said Sandoval during a news conference. "We can't continue to just automatically (increase spending). This is part of the reason for this budget deficit."
Models of performance-based budgeting have been adopted by a handful of states as a way to curb spending during bad economic times.
The Nevada government's spending increases automatically. Under performance-based budgeting, the governor and Legislature would set spending at a lower figure, set goals, and allow spending increases later only if the goals are met. Administrators and employers would be rewarded with bonuses if their spending comes in lower than the pre-set spending figure.
Sandoval has said he will unveil a proposed two-year budget of about $5.4 billion that will be $1 billion less than current spending and include no tax increases. He has said he is proposing 5 percent cuts in state employee wages and in the allocation the state makes to public schools and higher education.
The governor made his comments about changing the budgeting in response to questions from reporters about a new Nevada Policy Research Institute study that is being released today .
The conservative Las Vegas-based think tank said that until now, state budgets have been determined largely by taking existing spending and adding "roll-ups" such as salary increases, inflation and caseload growth.
"Instead budgets should be based on performance," said Geoffery Lawrence, the institute's deputy director of policy.
The think tank identifies how the Legislature could cut spending by $3.5 billion: $305 million could be saved by eliminating the class-size reduction program, $52 million by ending full-day kindergarten programs, $402 million by requiring tuition at the state's universities to be set at the national average, $102 million by stopping enforcement of minor drug possession offenses, and as much as $2.74 billion by lowering salaries paid state and local government employees to the national average.
But one labor official said Wednesday that cutting public employee pay is wrong, considering Nevada has the lowest number of public employees per capita in the nation.
"We are already working harder and doing the best we can with limited resources," said Vishnu Subramaniam, chief of staff for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 4041.
The research institute is refusing to look at reasonable ideas that would increase revenue by changing the state tax structure, he said.
"They are just looking at cuts," Subramaniam said. "When you cut, there are long-term consequences to the state's most vulnerable population. Asking us to take more cuts is not being responsible."
State employee pay is about 7 percent above the national average, and local government employees receive about 31 percent above the national average, according to a Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce study.
The institute also proposes ending collective bargaining. Sandoval has indicated he wants to make collective bargaining changes but not eliminate it.
Cutting employee pay "will be a hard pill to swallow for public employees," but Lawrence said pay should be aligned with what is paid around the country.
The institute proposes making Medicaid and Nevada Check Up patients pay a $5 co-pay that might cause them to think twice before going to a doctor for minor ailments. Medicaid is the free health care program for the poor, blind, disabled and some elderly. Nevada Check Up is a Medicaid program for children.
In the study, Lawrence said the governor and legislators should set performance goals they expect education, the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Welfare Division and other agencies to meet. If administrators don't meet them, then they should be disciplined or fired, he said.
Performance goals for education should include increasing the state's low high school graduation rate and demanding the student performance on standardized tests reach the national average, he said.
The institute proposes dumping the class-size reduction and full-day kindergarten programs because they have not been shown to bring long-lasting gains for students, he said.
Nevada should look to Florida where student performance has jumped by two grade levels since changes were made, including offering tax credits and vouchers that allow low-income students to attend private schools, he said.
Sandoval has advocated grading schools, offering vouchers, ending social promotion of students, ending teacher tenure and asking parents to read to their children.
Performance-based budgeting in Washington state has saved $2 billion, Lawrence said. In Iowa, he added, if state agencies meet performance indicators, they are allowed to keep half of any savings and can give bonuses to employees.
Sandoval said he has not yet reviewed the research institute's study, "Better Budgeting for Better Results," but would soon.
Lawrence acknowledged that moves toward performance-based budgeting have been undertaken by the Democratic leaders of the state Legislature. They created an interim legislative committee to review spending by several state agencies over the summer and fall.
But their efforts were hampered by an order from then-Gov. Jim Gibbons that agency directors could not attend the committee's meetings or respond to requests for information. Gibbons contended the committee was unconstitutional .
Contact Capital Bureau Chief Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901.
more cash rolls in
CARSON CITY -- Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval took in more than $677,000 in campaign contributions during the last three months of 2010, when his election was secure.
Campaign finance reports filed Wednesday show the bulk of contributions were made after the Nov. 2 general election, when Sandoval defeated Democratic nominee Rory Reid.
The latest campaign report covered donations received from Oct. 22 through Dec. 31.
For the calendar year, Sandoval, who defeated incumbent Gov. Jim Gibbons in June's GOP primary, raised $4 million in campaign cash.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Oh, by the way if Lawrence wants to go by the national average, then most teachers will be getting a raise.
When it comes to education, Florida has also enacted a policy to hold parents and students responsible. Is Lawrence and our wonderful governor willing to make those changes. Any reasonable person doesn't have a problem with being evaluated. However, if the measurements used for that evaluation are effected by issues out of your control (continuous discipline problems and little or no retention (not promoting students)) then your evaluation is nothing but a witch hunt. If the average person knew what went on in many classrooms they would be shocked.
BIG Government. All the way.
If we had small govenment in this state the biennnial budget could be as low as $160M. *Existing* mining taxes plus a few weeks of retail sales taxes would cover the whole thing. Bye bye business taxes, gaming taxes, cig taxes, entertainment taxes, etc.
Privatize all tax payer(suckers) schools
Make the parents pay for their one night of low level sex
Leave all the smart people,who did not have kids alone
Your monster you pay for it
NPRI wants to pay public employees the national average. Do they also want to increase the number of employees to the national average? Reduce class sizes to the national average? Increase the school day to the national average? Reduce gasoline taxes to the national average? Reduce car registration fees to the national average? Increase police officers to the national average? Increase the ratio of parks:population to the national average? Increase fully funded kindergarden to the national average? Increase fully funded preschool to the national average? I'll take this so-called 'think tank' seriously when they get serious about bringing Nevada up to par with the rest of the country.
Gov. Sandoval needs to man up and raise taxes on the Mining firms in Nevada. They can afford it.
He also needs to allow the rampant prostitution in Las Vegas to be legalized, regulated, and mega taxed. We already have legal brothels in our state AND they wanna pay more taxes anyway.
These are serious ideas about how to raise more than 1 Billion plus in revenue people, is the current leadership in Nevada listening??
-Markey the sane Las Vegas republican
The main reason Nevada has a budget crisis is due to the fact its economy was not diversified. The main industry is still gaming in Nevada. Some sort of gaming has become legalized in almost everyone of the 50 states. Over 10 years ago a UNLV professor publicly forewarned everyone that Nevada would lose at least 20 percent of its revenue when gaming became legal on Indian tribes in California. He stated that Nevada must diversity its economy. Obviously, no one heeded his forewarning in the state of Nevada.
Sure let's help increase the graduation rate by gutting pre-k, all day kindergarten and increase elementary school class size. Education is the great equalizer and it is what attracts jobs. Near poverty and poverty students would not be able to afford private school with vouchers because they could not cover the balance. Public school is just what it means, public! Available to everyone. If you want to send you child to private school do so but keep your hands off the public school money.
Our public employees are paid more because there are fewer of them to do the same job other states do with more employees.
Privatize all public schools,get rid of the unions
Make the dam parents pay for their one night of fun or the monster they created
Tax suckers should not have to flip the bill for you stupid kids
Time for NV to get a reality check on its budget woes